Darkness Rising
by Esm3rald
Summary: In December 1976, Lily abandons her illegitimate daughter in the orphanage when a boy named Tom Riddle will be born a mere two hours later. As soon as Regulus finds out, he swears to find her but he's killed by Grindelwald before he can. In 1980 the Prophecy is told. On Halloween night 1981, Matthew Potter becomes the Boy-Who-Lived. AU. Dark!Evil!FemHarry(eventually). SS/FemHP/TMR.
1. Prologue

**I CHANGED THE STORY SLIGHTLY! I ADVISE ANYONE WHO HAD ALREADY READ THIS PROLOGUE TO REREAD IT SO THEY WILL NOT TO BE CONFUSED WHILE READING THE FOLLOWING CHAPTERS!**

**This is my new story. It will be AU even if it will follow Canon somewhat. And don't worry I didn't give up on my other stories, I'm still writing but this idea didn't want to leave me alone so here I am.**

**For the sake of this story Regulus Black was born in 1960 instead of 1961 and he attended Hogwarts in the same year as Sirius, Severus and all the others. For anyone who doesn't know, Sirius was born in 1959 but he had to attend Hogwarts one year later, at 12 because he was born in the Fall. **

**Lily is born the 30th of September 1959, instead of the 30th of January 1960. The Hogwarts letter arrives if the eleventh birthday is between January and August, otherwise there's the need to wait another year.**

**In this story FemHarry is not the Child of the Prophecy. Not Wrong-Boy-Who-Lived or anything like that. She's simply not the one the prophecy refers to. And the Dark Lord this prologue refers to is Gellert Grindelwald, not Voldemort. In this story FemHarry and Tom Riddle will have the same age. And Tom Riddle has not _yet_ become Voldemort.**

****FemHarry will be older than in Canon. She's born the 31st of December - like Tom - 1976 instead of the 31st of July 1980. The Boy-Who-Lived of this story is born in the 31 of July 1980. Tom Riddle is born the 31st of December 1976.****

**It will be a FemHarry/Tom Riddle story mainly but also FemHarry/Severus with some threesome elements too. If you don't like it, don't read it!****It won't be a love triangle though. She will simply be with both of them.**

**In this story FemHarry will be Dark - and "Evil" if going against Dumbledore and being against muggles means being evil - and she definitely won't be the hero of the story. There is some Lily Bashing in this prologue, for whoever likes her character, sorry!**

**Since the Dark Lord is Grindelwald, Severus is Grindelwald's follower and not Voldemort's in this prologue.**

**Tom Riddle will still be Tom Riddle but you'll probably notice that he will be less of a leader than in the Canon story; that's because FemHarry will be the one 'in charge' so to say.**

****- I imagine FemHarry as Katie McGrath in this story BTW. She has the perfect appearance for the character I have in mind when I think of FemHarry in this story -.****

****SPOILERS: PSEUDO-INCEST. Tom and FemHarry will grow up together and will believe - for awhile - that they are actual siblings. I don't believe their relationship can be considered an incestous one since they are _not _brother and sister but they will make everyone believe that they are related so, once they will get involved together romantically, it could be considered incest in the eyes of the law(?) but I personally don't since they are not blood-related(even with a blood adoption in the mix). Just wanted to warn you!****

**Well, I think I said everything I needed to. Hope you like the prologue and that you will continue to read my story.**

**Prologue**

_31st December 1976 - London, Wool's Orphanage_

She wasn't proud of what she was about to do but she knew that it would be better like this. After all, who could possibly want her, a mudblood like her, after knowing that she had had a child at seventeen, without being married? No, she couldn't keep the baby with her.

It would be better like this, she repeated once again in her mind.

Sure, the baby would grow up as an orphan but at 11, she would be accepted to Hogwarts; she would be considered a muggleborn like Lily herself, but in the end, she would be happy. She would get married, starting a family on her own and soon she would forget about the parents she had never known.

Lily shook her head to chase those thoughts away. She couldn't keep thinking like that. This was not her daughter, she was just an obstacle in her path to become a rich, powerful and respected witch. She would marry a pureblood wizard and soon everyone would forget about the muggle blood flowing in her veins.  
>It was because of this that she couldn't keep the baby with her.<p>

It had been easier than she had thought it would be, hiding the fact that she was pregnant. She had always been slender anyway and she hadn't gained much weight because of the pregnancy. At the sixth month, when her belly had started to really grow, all she had needed was a concealing spell to hide whatever visible suspicious bulge.

She could just imagine the reaction of her family if they had found out about the fact that she got knocked up. She could picture without any difficulty the smug smirk of her sister Petunia and her malicious thoughts: "Not so perfect anymore, eh sister?"

She gave birth in a muggle hospital and then she had erased the memory of every doctor and nurse who had attended the birth. Nobody beside her knew that that night she had given birth to a girl, nobody ever would.

All of this had brought her there that night, in that precise moment, in front of a muggle orphanage, with the infant she refused to call her daughter in her arms.

She needed to be quick, nobody had to see her there.

She looked at the baby one last time and almost winced when she realized that the baby was awake, completely silent, staring at her, almost accusing her because of what she was about to do.

The baby's eyes were green and looked huge on that pale face, a tuft of dark hair on her head, certainly a trait of resemblance with her father. The baby's eyes were too similar to her own for comfort, and yet in that delicate, perfect face they looked even greener and brighter.

She took a deep breath, trying not to look the baby in the eye while laying her gently on the first step before the front door.

She hadn't even given the baby a name, the people of the orphanage would take care of that.

She looked at the baby one more time, wrapped in the warm blanket to shelter her from the cold air of that winter night. Then she turned away and apparated away from there, returning to her parents' house like nothing ever happened, a slight smile of relief painted on her lips. She did it.

_January 1977 - Hogsmeade, Three Broomsticks_

"How could you Lily? She's my daughter too, the one you abandoned in some muggle orphanage who knows where. Did you really think I wouldn't find out?"

"It doesn't matter Reg. It's better this way, for the both of us. I didn't want anyone to find out that I had a baby at seventeen and out of wedlock. And anyway, what do you think your parents' reaction would be if they knew that you had a child with a mudblood?"

"I don't care. You should have told me. You should have consulted me before abandoning our daughter among muggles. Tell me where she is or I swear Lily I..." He clenched his fists in anger but also to try to control himself and not resort to physical violence like some common muggle. In that moment he wanted nothing more than to slap her.

"I'm sorry but I won't tell you where she is. Forget about her, it's better this way" She repeated once again.

Regulus didn't even try to hide the extreme disgust he felt in that moment towards Lily, the woman who had once been his lover.

"What was I thinking, deciding to get involved with the likes of you? Especially knowing what Severus feels for you." he asked her rhetorically "My parents are right. Mudbloods are just scum and you're the worst of them. Goodbye Evans, I suggest you to stay away from me or you won't like the consequences". And with those last words he left the room at the Three Broomsticks where the two of them had locked themselves in to avoid prying eyes or ears. He didn't look back once.

He would find his daughter, even if it meant visiting every single muggle orphanage of the United Kingdom.

_December 1979 - Black Family Cottage, South Kent_

"Promise me Sirius! Promise me that if anything happens to me, that you'll keep looking for my daughter in my place and that you'll take care of her as if she were yours".

Regulus looked at him with an intensity in his eyes that Sirius had never before seen in him. Regulus was usually very in control of his emotions, so seeing his brother so rattled worried Sirius more than he could express.

"Why do you think something would happen to you? What makes you more in danger than everyone else involved in this war?"

"I betrayed The Dark Lord. He had asked my help in creating protections for a very valuable object he needed to hide. When I realized what that object was though, I knew that I couldn't serve him anymore. So I've stolen the object and hid it where he can't find it and I'm trying to find a way to destroy it. This means that I'm in danger. The Dark Lord Grindelwald could find me at any moment. I could die before having been able to find my daughter. So promise me that even once I'm gone, you'll keep searching for her".

"I promise you brother. I'll do whatever it takes to find your child"

_August 1980 - Location Unknown_

"Yesterday, something of great importance has been reported to me" Grindelwald spoke to his loyal followers in a cold, clear voice. "It seems that a prophecy has been made, designating the person with the power to defeat me".

Worried whispers immediately started among the followers in attendance at those words.

"The Prophecy speaks of a boy born when the seventh month dies, born from parents who has thrice defied me. It could refer to both the Potters' child or the Longbottoms' child. I'm certain that Dumbledore would do whatever he can to keep those two families safe, probably going as far as create a safe location for them to hide. As if it existed a place safe enough for them to protect them from me. Peter, you are one of James Potter's best friends, if there is a person able to discover where they will hide, it's you. Find where they will hide or I'm sure I won't have to tell you what the consequences will be".

"Yes, My Lord" Peter Pettigrew squeaked in a meek, frightened voice before lowering his head in a sign of submission.

Severus Snape, one of Grindelwald's followers, listened to the Dark Lord's words with a sense of dread and guilt, knowing that he had unintentionally put the woman that he loved in danger. He waited until the end of the meeting before approaching the Dark Lord.

"My Lord, I know I don't have the right to ask you this but, in case My Lord should decide that the Potter boy is the one the prophecy is referring to, I would like to ask for the life of Lily Potter to be spared".

"You still worry about that mudblood? You still care about her even if she has rejected you and has chosen your worst enemy as her husband?"

"Yes My Lord" Severus merely said in response, not willing to explain to the Dark Lord why he still cared about Lily.

"Very well. If she's so important to you, I'll spare her, after all it was you who reported the prophecy to me. You have been an invaluable servant and because of this, I'll consent to your request. If Lily Potter won't try to stop me and she won't cause me problems, I'll spare her. After all, I only care about her son".

Severus knew that it was highly unlikely for Lily to simply stand aside, allowing the death of her son to happen but Severus didn't know what else he could do to save her. Then suddenly, he knew what he had to do. He needed to talk to Dumbledore - the only one the Dark Lord had ever feared - and ask him to help him protect Lily. It was the only way to save her.

_31 October 1981 - Godric's Hollow_

Grindelwald entered Godric's Hollow and immediately heard James Potter's voice screaming for Lily Potter to take their son and run. He shook his head at the Auror's stupidity before finally crossing the door to the cottage in Godric's Hollow where the Potters had been hidden until Pettigrew had revealed the place to him. Potter didn't put much of a fight and with a jet of green light later, Grindelwald was ascending the stairs towards the nursery.

He entered the room and immediately noticed the fiery red head standing protectively in front of her son's cradle.

"Lily Potter, the mudblood who was able to marry a rich pureblood. I would never understand why Severus still cares about you. Think that he even went as far as to ask me to spare you. What it is about you that is so special? What it is about you that brings intelligent men to love you so deeply? It doesn't matter. You are and always will be an inferior being. Stand aside and I'll let you live...this time"

"Please, take me, not Matthew!" Lily Potter pleaded desperately in response.

"Stand aside you silly girl, there's no need for you to die" Grindelwald tried one more time.

"Please, kill me, not Matthew, please!" The girl continued to plead and beg, not moving an inch from her position.

Grindelwald mentally sighed, thinking that Snape wouldn't be happy to hear the news. "Don't say I didn't warn you". He casted the killing curse on her and watched dispassionately as the body of Lily Potter hit the floor with a thump. He passed over her body and smiled triumphantly at the child on his feet inside his crib.

There was nothing or no one who could stop him from killing Matthew Potter now, the child who has been prophesized as the one with the power to kill him.  
>He pointed his wand at the one-year-old child, who was staring at him with big, brown eyes.<p>

He pronounced the spell that would end the life of the only one who would be able to kill him.

The jet of green light headed towards the Potter's boy forehead. Then something strange happened.

For a moment it seemed the curse had hit his target, and yet a moment later it was sent back towards the one who casted it, ending up hitting Grindelwald square in the chest.

The Dark Lord widened his eyes, torn between surprise, fury and fright, then his body disintegrated and he found himself wandering like a specter, outside the house that had seen his momentary end.

Since that night, Matthew Potter became known all over the Wizarding World as the Boy-Who-Lived, the only person in the world that had ever survived the killing curse and the person who had apparently caused the disappearance of the Dark Lord Grindelwald.


	2. Interlude

**Sorry if it's short but it's just an interlude. The real Chapter 1 will be longer and we'll see Tom and Jade find out about the Wizarding World. Prepare for the entrance of Severus and Sirius into the story because it will happen next chapter. And we'll see what happened to Matthew Potter. Hope you like this 'Interlude' though in the meantime. Please tell me what you think!**

**Interlude**

_31st December 1976 - Wool's Orphanage _

Mrs Cole looked at the woman before her in pity, already convinced she would not survive the night.

"What's your name dear?" She asked her in the most reassuring tone she could master. The woman looked at her from the bed she was lying on, her forehead and hair completely covered in sweat, trying to breathe through the pain of the contractions.

"Merope...Merope Gaunt" She answered at last in a whisper.

"Well Merope, now I need you to breathe deeply, in and out, and when I tell you to, push with all the force you have, okay? Can you do that?".

The woman merely nodded in reply. "Okay, now push!" Merope did as she was told, gasping for the effort.

Mrs Cole was interrupted in the delivery of the baby by Betty, one of the girls who helped her at the orphanage, who made her way into the bedroom, a baby in her arms.

"Mrs Cole, Mrs Cole!" She said to catch her attention. "We found this baby on the doorstep, we don't know how much time she has spent outside. She's sleeping now but she's slightly cold to the touch. What should I do?"

"Don't you see I'm a little busy right now? Put her in a cot and try to warm her up" Mrs Cole answered in a irritated tone.

"There are no more cots Mrs Cole" Betty said, her tone calmer now but also cautious, probably afraid to irritate her more "Only the one here but it's so old I'm afraid it's going to fall off at the slightest weight".

"Put her there for now, then we'll think of what to do".

Betty nodded and gently put the baby inside the cot near the bed, trying to find more blankets to cover her up with. It was an old thing, eaten by woodworms and with a wobbly leg but it was the best they had at the moment.

She returned her attention towards the woman that was in the middle of another contraction. They were more and more frequents, it wouldn't be long now.

"Do you know what name are you going to call your baby?" Mrs Cole asked the woman to distract her from the pain.

"If he's a boy: Tom after his father and Marvolo after my father. Tom Marvolo Riddle".

"And if she's a girl?" Mrs Cole asked, thinking to herself what strange names this woman and her father had. Maybe they were from the circus.

"Jade after Tom's mother and Morrigan after my mother" She said with a small smile. "But I hope he's a boy and that he looks like his father". Mrs Cole didn't comment on the fact that it would have been better for the baby to look like his father since his mother wasn't certainly a beauty. She kept her mental musings to herself and continued helping her delivering the baby.

Less than two hours later the baby - now named Tom Marvolo Riddle - was born and Merope had just the time to hold him in her arms for a few precious moments before she died.

Mrs Cole fed Tom while Betty was feeding the girl, her big green eyes looking curiously around her. Then Mrs Cole put Tom near the baby girl on the cot and noticed that they immediately seemed to reach towards each other until it seemed like they were hugging each other while sleeping. Betty noticed the same thing, if the small smile on her face was any indication.

"Mrs Cole" Betty said again "This baby girl has no name. How should we call her?"

Mrs Cole had the strangest idea in that moment "We'll call her Jade Morrigan Riddle and we'll tell everyone who asks that they are brother and sister".

"Why?" Betty asked confused.

"Because, even if no one will adopt them, they will still have a family in each other".

_July 1984 _- _Wool's Orphanage_

Jade was reading, sprawled on her bed in the room she shared with her brother when said brother entered the room with a thunderous expression and a cried "I hate them!". This was not an unusual occurrence so Jade merely rolled her eyes, closed her book and turned to look at Tom.

"What happened this time?" She asked patiently. Tom, unlike herself, was often impulsive and too easy to anger - especially because he often saw it as a direct hit against his pride - while she was colder and more rational, even in the face of extreme humiliation. Tom still needed to learn to mask his emotions and that often, the sweetest revenge was that which came when no one expects it.

"They called me a freak again" Tom said, a little petulantly.

"And you, of course, screamed at them that it was not true and they hit you" Jade said in boredom and Tom glared back at her.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you need to stay calm. Soon, we'll master control of these strange things that we can do and no one in this wretched place would dare harm an hair on our heads".

"When? When will this happen? I am tired of being treated like this, looked at with scorn and suspicious and being called names when these..._people_" He said the word 'people' like he would say 'cockroaches' "are less than us. We are _bette_r than them. We are smarter and we can do things that they have never dreamed of".

"I know Tom, but you must be patient. Soon, they will fear us. Soon, no one would dare utter a single word against us if they don't want to face the consequences".

Tom looked at her with a nod before sitting in the bed next to hers. "Now, have you done like I told you?" Jade asked him in a slightly reproachful tone.

Tom nodded before taking a deep breath and staring fixedly at the book she had left on her bed when Tom had entered the room. A moment later said book was floating a few centimeters above it. Jade smiled at him brilliantly and Tom blushed slightly in pride. He liked it when she was happy with him and likewise hated when she became annoyed when he did something stupid she disapproved of. And unfortunately for Tom, it was rather often.

"Good. Now look at what I've learned and try to replicate it". Jade concentrated on the book still floating on air and a moment later it went crashing against the wall with a loud bang before falling on the floor.

"Wow" Tom looked at her in awe, a look Tom directed often towards Jade. Tom didn't look up to a lot of people - actually he didn't look up to anyone besides Jade. The other people were just too stupid and ordinary for him to ever give them the time of day. Jade was different. First of all, she was his sister, the only family he had ever known, the only person he had ever felt love towards, the only person who knew him completely because the two of them were the same. Second of all, while Tom was incredibly smart and could do things normal people couldn't, she was even smarter and she was the one always teaching him new, strange things, like making objects float without touching them.

Though they were twins, Tom and Jade didn't look identical, though it was obvious they were related. They had both the same pale skin, dark hair and light eyes but Jade's hair were raven black, a shade darker than Tom's; Tom's hair were short and straight while Jade's were long and always styled in perfect waves; Tom's eyes were a deep blue while Jade - like her name said - had jade green eyes.

They were both extremely attractive, even from such a young age. Tom thought that was just another proof that they were simply better than everyone else around them.

Jade was just beautiful, there was no other word for it; beautiful in a flawless, almost inhuman way. Tom had never seen a girl half as pretty as her in the whole of London, even girls older than her.

Tom was aware of the fact that he practically worshipped his sister, that in his eyes she was the epitome of perfection and that he would do anything she asked of him without question.

Maybe a lot of people would think their relationship was not normal. They were too close, too codependent of each other, living in a world made of just the two of them that no one else was allowed to touch. But Tom didn't care. He wouldn't give up on his relationship with his sister for nothing in the world. It didn't matter if the rest of the world hated them as long as they were together.


End file.
